José Cusachs

JOSÉ CUSACHS Y CUSACHS (Montpellier, France, 1851 - Barcelona, 1908).
"Male portrait".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Presents restorations on the back, and slight loss in the left margin.
Measurements: 80 x 48 cm, 76 x 64 cm (frame).

Oval portrait resolved in realistic language and naturalistic intention. It emphasizes the capacity of Cusachs to enter in the psychology of the personage.

Jose Cusachs entered the Artillery Academy to make the military career, but asked for retirement in 1882 to devote himself to painting, leaving behind a brilliant career in the Army. Trained in Barcelona under the direction of Simón Gómez, he completed his artistic studies with a stay in Paris, in the studio of Eduardo Detaille, one of the greatest experts in military themes, a genre that would be Cusachs' favorite. In 1880 he settled in Barcelona and began an extensive production of military studies, which were reproduced in the work of F. Barado entitled "La vida militar en España" (Military life in Spain). In 1887 he obtained a notable success in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of Madrid with three paintings, one of which was acquired by the regent María Cristina ("En el campo de maniobras"). In 1891 he participated in the Berlin Exhibition and won the Gold Medal for his work "Maneuvers of division". Cusachs also stood out as a famous military portraitist, and painted, among others, General Prim, King Alfonso XIII in military uniform and Mexican President Profirio Díaz. Other notable works by his hand are "The Flight into Egypt" from the Monastery of Montserrat, one of his few religious canvases, and "Abnegation" and "Far Thought". The bulk of his work is collected in the Museum of Modern Art in Madrid and the National Art Museum of Catalonia, as well as other centers such as the Museum of Montserrat, the National History Museum, the Captaincy General of Valencia, the Artillery Headquarters of Valladolid, the Gallery of Illustrious Captains of the City of Barcelona and prominent private collections, such as the Santiago Gramunt.